Brooks Koepka hit out at the pace of play after finishing runner-up to Jon Rahm in the 87th Masters.
Koepka took a two-shot lead into the final round at Augusta National, but could only card a closing 75 to finish joint second with Phil Mickelson, four shots behind Rahm.
The final pair took close to five hours to complete their rounds, although they waited on almost every hole and Patrick Cantlay – in the group ahead with Viktor Hovland – was widely held to be responsible for the slow going.
“The group in front of us was brutally slow,” Koepka said.
“Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”
Hovland also appeared frustrated with Cantlay’s slow pace, playing his third shot to the par-five 13th while the American was still walking towards the green.
Koepka was bidding to lead from start-to-finish and secure the third leg of a career grand slam, the former world number one having won four majors in eight starts between 2017 and 2019 – a stretch which included finishing joint second behind Tiger Woods at Augusta in 2019.
The 32-year-old struggled to reproduce that form as he battled a succession of injuries in the last two years, but believes he can add to his major tally going forward.
“I’ve known this for a while, but I guess it was just a matter of going out and doing it,” he said. “I led for three rounds and just didn’t do it on the last day, that’s it. Plain and simple.
“Eventually this will be a positive. I’d say probably give it a week and I’ll start to see some positives out of it and carry this over to the PGA, the US Open and The Open.
“But right now, it’s kind of tough to see, if I’m honest, probably for the next few hours and the next few days.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here